Rank and organization: Lieutenant
Colonel, U.S.
Army, 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division. Place and date: At
Saipan,
Marianas Islands, 20 June through
7 July 1944. Entered service
at:
Troy, N.Y.
Birth:
Troy,
N.Y. G.O. No.: 35,
9 May 1945.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty at
Saipan,
Marianas Islands, from 20 June through
7 July 1944. When assault
elements of his platoon were held up by intense enemy fire, Lt. Col. O'Brien
ordered 3 tanks to precede the assault companies in an attempt to knock out the
strongpoint. Due to direct enemy fire the tanks' turrets were closed, causing
the tanks to lose direction and to fire into our own troops. Lt. Col. O'Brien,
with complete disregard for his own safety, dashed into full view of the enemy
and ran to the leader's tank, and pounded on the tank with his pistol butt to
attract 2 of the tank's crew and, mounting the tank fully exposed to enemy
fire, Lt. Col. O'Brien personally directed the assault until the enemy
strongpoint had been liquidated. On
28 June 1944, while his platoon was attempting to take a
bitterly defended high ridge in the vicinity of Donnay, Lt. Col. O'Brien
arranged to capture the ridge by a double envelopment movement of 2 large
combat battalions. He personally took control of the maneuver. Lt. Col. O'Brien
crossed 1,200 yards of sniper-infested underbrush alone to arrive at a point
where 1 of his platoons was being held up by the enemy. Leaving some men to
contain the enemy he personally led 4 men into a narrow ravine behind, and
killed or drove off all the Japanese manning that strongpoint. In this action
he captured S machineguns and one 77-mm. fieldpiece. Lt. Col. O'Brien then
organized the 2 platoons for night defense and against repeated counterattacks
directed them. Meanwhile he managed to hold ground. On
7 July 1944 his battalion and another
battalion were attacked by an overwhelming enemy force estimated at between
3,000 and 5,000 Japanese. With bloody hand-to-hand fighting in progress
everywhere, their forward positions were finally overrun by the sheer weight of
the enemy numbers. With many casualties and ammunition running low, Lt. Col.
O'Brien refused to leave the front lines. Striding up and down the lines, he
fired at the enemy with a pistol in each hand and his presence there bolstered
the spirits of the men, encouraged them in their fight and sustained them in
their heroic stand. Even after he was seriously wounded, Lt. Col. O'Brien
refused to be evacuated and after his pistol ammunition was exhausted, he
manned a .50 caliber machinegun, mounted on a jeep, and continued firing. When
last seen alive he was standing upright firing into the Jap hordes that were
then enveloping him. Some time later his body was found surrounded by enemy he
had killed His valor was consistent with the highest traditions of the service.
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